all i want for christmas is y—a house!

We’re so close to this thing I can almost taste it.

A few weeks ago, right after the first inspector told us that the house could not be inspected unless the mold was remediated, we attempted to renegotiate a lower price with his recommendation in writing. We figured the bank might be more inclined to accept if they saw the words come from a respected inspector. It took a couple of weeks for them to get back to us, at which point they rejected the new offer because they had stipulated early on that the house was to come “as is”. Fair enough, but we had to try anyway. We weren’t all that surprised by the rejection and decided to proceed with the initial accepted offer, which was still an amazing price. We also decided to go with a new inspection company, one that agreed to inspect even with the toxic mold present.

Now it’s a matter of turning on the utilities inside the house, which has been a ridiculously slow process. Since the house has not been lived in for over a year, the utilities have not been in use, however it’s something we need to complete a full and thorough inspection. I don’t know why, but it has taken several weeks for them to just activate the electric, gas and water. Personally, I think that this should have been done ages ago. Then again, I don’t know what goes on behind the scenes and what the potential holdups are, but it’s still frustrating to wait on other people when you’re raring to go.

The other day, I got word from our realtor that she just needed to confirm about the water being turned on and then we’d be good to go for the inspection. I’m really nervous about it because our buying of this house hinges on the inspection. If it turns out it needs more repairs than what it’s worth or what we can afford, then the deal’s off. This worries me because this house is our only prospect. It is the only place we’ve seen that meets our specific criteria. It’s tough to look for a home when you’re not allowed to be flexible, but that’s where we’re at right now. And if it doesn’t work out, then we’re going to revisit the idea of moving in with Bob’s mother and grandmother temporarily (if they’ll have us, of course). Like I’ve stated before, the upside is that we’d be able to save more money and perhaps be able to afford a better property down the line. The downside is that this area of Maspeth isn’t very convenient when it comes to public transportation and grocery shopping. But we will make it work if we have to.

Normally I don’t care about getting gifts for Christmas, but this year I’m feeling a little greedy. I want this house! A place to call all our own. A home to grow in. Somewhere we can stretch our legs. So I’m hoping that this holiday will bring us festive fun, joy and most of all, a positive inspection report!